Umwelt Hacking: Can we sense like a forest, a mycelium network or an octopus?

Abstract

Can we sense like a forest, a mycelium network or an octopus? Each of these is their own 'kingdom' so how do we build sensory bridges between these kingdoms? This paper explores expanding the definition of intelligence, seeking to find a bridge between what humans can sense, and what a forest, mycelium network or octopus can. The project came out of the observation that our human metric of intelligence is flawed, there seems to be a hierarchical and binary approach, alongside a predominant belief that what we consider is quite narrow and fixed, aligning with what computers can do, favouring speed, efficiency, and memory. This excludes the richness of neurodiversity and people with radically different abilities. Building on previous projects and experiments we have conducted several experiments exploring the transfer process involved in sensing like a forest, a mycelium network or an octopus